Chapter 52: Weirdos

"Devin! Devin!" the little boy shouted from a distance, running breathlessly.

Sitting in front of an old hut was a handsome man with long, dark purple hair. He was busy chopping wood shirtless, showing off his sculpted abs. Hearing his name being called repeatedly, he stopped what he was doing and raised his head, staring into the distance.

"Devin, I found the beautiful goddess you drew! I found her! She’s real!" the little boy shouted, finally reaching Devin.

Devin stared at the breathless little boy and smirked. "How many times have you tried to trick me with that same statement? Go and play, Suno," he replied, not paying him any more attention.

"I’m serious this time! It’s really her! Look, she gave me this," Suno said, showing him the wristwatch Nova gave him.

Devin stared at the wristwatch, and then into Suno’s eyes. "Did you take this from a city woman? How many times have I told you that city people are dangerous and evil? You shouldn’t take anything from them," his voice carried deep traces of anger.

Suno took a step back, hiding his hands behind his back as he lowered his head. "She is not bad... she is really the goddess you drew. Haven’t you always dreamed about her? She’s really in our village, you should meet her," he said.

Devin’s brows narrowed even more tightly. "Listen, I intend to sell that painting. There is no way she could ever exist. Dreaming about her was just inspiration," he commented.

"It’s a lie! You don’t want to sell it!" Suno shouted.

"You..."

"What’s going on here? Devin, why are you arguing with your brother?" Another young man stepped forward, staring between Suno and Devin.

Devin pointed at Suno while staring at the man. "A random city woman is probably visiting our village, and this brat has the guts to take something from her," he explained.

The man stared at Suno. "What did she give you?" he asked.

Suno raised his hand, showing him the wristwatch.

The man raised his brows, his eyes burn with greed for few seconds. "A wristwatch... the city woman seems rich," he murmured and approached Suno, but the little boy immediately took several steps back.

"She said she gave it to me... I... I also gave her your scarf. Let’s consider it an exchange," Suno said, staring at Devin.

Devin gritted his teeth together. "Keep an eye on him for me, Gabriel. I’m coming," he said and entered the hut, grabbing a random dirty shirt before coming back out.

"You have to return this. As for my scarf, you will knit another one. Lead the way," Devin ordered.

"Don’t... don’t scare the beautiful goddess when you meet her," Suno said, not moving from his spot.

"Tsk... lead the way!" Devin replied angrily, and Suno immediately ran off while Devin followed him.

"Wait for me! I will follow you too!" Gabriel immediately followed them.

.....

Inside the shop, Nova selected some simple clothes and stared at the lady in charge of attending to customers. "I want all these," Nova said, putting her payment card on the counter.

The lady immediately took the card and charged the total amount. "You are so beautiful, Miss," she couldn’t help but praise, retuning the card.

"I’m married," Nova commented.

"Wow!" The lady covered her mouth in shock. "Her man is so lucky!" she thought and giggled. "I... I will pack the clothes," she said and immediately started packing the clothes into a nylon bag.

Nova smiled lightly and took the bag. Without saying another word, she stepped out of the shop, only to find the entire area crowded.

A thick, spellbound tension hung over the gathered villagers. Everyone stared at her with deep, reverent admiration without making a single sound. It’s as if they are afraid any sound from them will scare her.

"Weirdos," Nova murmured, ignoring them. She was about to open the car door, but Suno’s voice echoed through the silent crowd.

"Beautiful goddess! Beautiful goddess!"

Nova paused, her gaze falling on Suno as he squeezed his way through the dense crowd toward her. She raised an eyebrow, staring down at him.

"Why are you back, little one?" she asked.

Suno smiled. "I mentioned that I would be back. Look, I brought my brother!" Suno said, pointing at Devin.

Devin, who finally made his way to the front of the crowd, froze the moment his eyes met Nova. An intense, breathless tension settled over him, locking him in place. The air around him seemed to thin out completely. "It’s really her... exactly like in my dream. She... she’s real!" he thought, his heart hammering against his chest.

Gabriel, who also saw Nova, was equally shocked. A bitter, jealous tension flared up inside him. "So beautiful! Are city women this beautiful now? She’s completely different," he thought.

Nova stared at Devin as a translucent, large blue screen appeared before her vision.

Target information downloaded

Name: Devin

Age: 27

Occupation: Woodcutter and knitter

Threat Rate: 0

Note: He is an orphan with only one brother named Suno.

Nova smiled lightly without speaking, silently taking note of the information.

"The system provides quite little information about this guy. He might be useful," Anah’s voice echoed in her mind, sounding very much like she was chewing on something.

"Aren’t you the system? How very unserious. You are the first system to be eating—shameless," Nova replied, still annoyed by the fact that the entire chicken was now with Anah.

Anah laughed. "Systems go hungry too. Now, I’m half-you, half-system, not entirely system. By the way, the chicken is quite good," she replied.

"I won’t mind you for now," Nova hissed inwardly.

"B... Beauty," Devin called out, his throat dry as he tried to navigate the heavy, suffocating atmosphere between them. "I... I’m here to ask if you are from the city. I want to ask if I can follow you to the city," he asked, trying desperately to remain calm under her piercing gaze.

Gabriel stared at Devin, his brows knitting tightly together as a malicious, envious tension surged through him. "Devin wants to follow her? Wouldn’t that mean he’ll soon get rich, marry this beauty, and become a man from the city? No... I can’t let that happen," he thought, clenching his fists tightly.

"Goddess! I... I am a good friend of Devin," Gabriel spoke up, stepping forward. "There are some things you need to know about him before you take him to the city. Devin is an orphan and has been struggling alone with his brother since he was young."

"He’s illiterate and only knows how to cut wood to sell. I don’t want you to take him to the city only to find out about this later and start maltreating him. As his good friend, I would be sad. There was even a time when he almost raped the village chief’s daughter, though that was a complete misunderstanding back then."

Gabriel paused, casting a dark, snake-like look over Devin. "I’m saying this so that you can know my friend better. If you truly want to take him to the city, you mustn’t maltreat him," he said.

"To hell with this Gabriel guy! That attempted rape was completely arranged by him and the village chief’s daughter to frame Devin just because Devin said he wouldn’t marry her! Devin didn’t touch that stupid girl at all, it was all arranged by them. Even at the end of it all, he still didn’t marry her," Anah commented in Nova’s head.

"Interesting," Nova nodded.

Seeing Nova nod, Devin clenched his fists tightly. The tension in his chest flared into a suffocating burn. "Why do I suddenly have the urge to explain everything to her? I have never cared about what anyone thinks of me," he thought. He opened his mouth, about to speak, but Gabriel immediately stopped him.

"What’s wrong with this stupid guy today? Does he actually want to explain himself?" Gabriel thought, a subtle, manipulative smile playing on his lips. "Think about it, Devin. City people are arrogant. The more you try to explain yourself, the more they will look down on you," he whispered close to his ear.

Devin clenched his fists even tighter until his knuckles turned deathly white, the humiliating weight of the scene pressing heavily on his shoulders. "Fine," he sighed heavily.